Haitian immigration crisis reaches new heights.
| Autor | Giron, Crosby |
Although the exodus of Haitian immigrants arriving in the Dominican Republic has been an ongoing problem throughout the past four decades, it has recently reached new heights. This is partly because the Dominican authorities wish to put an end to the arrival of Haitian immigrants and partly because the crisis has underscored tensions between the two countries that have acquired overtones of racism, discrimination, and violence, as reported by international organizations and human rights groups.
"If I don't belong here, where do I belong?" read the placards carried by a number of Haitian immigrants to express their fears and concerns as they undergo the regularization process to become Dominican nationals (NotiCen, Nov. 21, 2013, and April 10, 2014). Even though thousands of these Haitian immigrants were born in the Dominican Republic, their lack of documentation has left them in a legal limbo and facing the threat of deportation.
According to Amnesty International (AI), the deadline set by the Dominican authorities for Haitian immigrants to apply for residence elapsed in February. Until two years ago, the Dominican Republic granted citizenship to the children of Haitian immigrants born in the country. However, following a court decree in 2013 and other changes to immigration procedures, these children have been denied the right to be registered as Dominican nationals and to have Dominican birth certificates and ID cards (NotiCen, June 26, 2014).
This situation has left 20,000 people in a legal limbo as they are not recognized by either the Dominican or the Haitian authorities. Some of those problems are related to their basic rights. Long lines of "stateless people" can be seen in the Dominican immigration offices, many of whom were hoping to obtain residence permits.
Erika Guevara, Americas director for AI, told the local press that many of these people have lost hope of obtaining papers as the official deadline established by the Dominican authorities has elapsed.
The Dominican government says the legal changes seek to end the influx of undocumented immigrants from Haiti that originated more than a century ago (NotiCen, Aug. 9, 2012).
The UN and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) have pressured the Dominican government, which has given in, to an extent, by passing a law in May 2014 that would allow the children of undocumented persons to request residence permits, which would eventually allow them to obtain citizenship...
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